ContextWeb Internet Advertising Blog

ContextWeb announces “next generation” algorithms for the ADSDAQ Exchange

Shanthi Sarkar — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 14:12:25 +0000

ContextWeb, Inc. is proud to announce that it has developed and implemented “next generation” algorithms that have resulted in deeper, niche classification of the millions of Web pages that are part of the ADSDAQ Exchange. The new algorithms, developed and tested by in-house ADSDAQ mathematicians and software engineers, have produced the following achievements:

Automatically discovers additional keywords for existing exchange content categories, which increases the number of keywords for categorization by tenfold. This enables the ADSDAQ exchange to be able to discern niche subcategories more efficiently.
Automatically discovers keywords to define new categories chosen specifically by advertisers as those content topics become relevant. This will allow advertisers to use hot topics to continually target their audience for maximum engagement.
Provides a platform that is language-independent; allowing the discovery of keywords and phrases in real time across content in every language.

With the new approach, the system can learn to categorize automatically with no human management. Results of new algorithm performance across the more than 7,000 sites on the ADSDAQ exchange show huge gains in category refinement.

Our new algorithms open up millions of pages of additional ad inventory in very targeted, niche categories. This is great news for brand advertisers who want assurance that their ads will appear in appropriate context and on brand-safe content that supports their messages. For performance advertisers, getting their offers in front of the right audience allows them to meet their performance metrics. This will also help publishers to more effectively monetize Web pages deep within their sites.

Don’t miss SES San Jose next week!

Tiffany Sumner — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 17:52:41 +0000

Search Engine Strategies (SES) will host SES San Jose at the San Jose Convention Center from August 18-22nd. At this year’s conference, marketers, webmasters, online ad industry executives and others will come together to learn how to maximize SEM opportunities and stay informed of the latest industry trends, tools, algorithm developments and solutions. ContextWeb’s Jay Sears, EVP Strategic Products & Business Development, will appear on the panel “Everything but Google: Alternative Search Advertising Options” on August 18th at 2:45PM. Andrew Goodman, Principal, Page Zero Media, will moderate the panel. Other speakers will include:

Sage Lewis, Search Engine Watch Expert & President, SageRock.com
Jonathan Ewert, Vice President and General Manager, LookSmart
Dustin Kwan, Senior Product Manager, Ask Sponsored Listings
Mary Berk, Senior Product Manager, Microsoft.

“Everything but Google: Alternative Search Advertising Options” will explore alternatives to Google, Yahoo, and MSN (the “big three”) in the search and online ad display industries. Topics discussed will include: Bit Torrent search engines, image search engines, artificial intelligence systems, clustering engines, recommendation search engines, metasearch and many more.

We hope to see you at SES San Jose! Visit our site to find out about more upcoming events.

Join ContextWeb at ad:tech Chicago

Tiffany Sumner — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 22:27:26 +0000

This week, Ad:tech Chicago will take place at Navy Piers where the theme will be “Mastering Brand Performance and Effective Marketing Solutions.” Top Web publishers, agencies and marketers will network and share insights over the next few days. Among them are ContextWeb, Inc.’s Scot McLernon, President of the Upstream Group and member of ContextWeb’s Advisory Board; Jay Sears, EVP, Strategic Products & Business Development; and Joe Kutchera, Director of Spanish-Language Markets. Come see us at the following keynote panels.

On Tuesday from 2:15-3:15PM, Jay Sears will speak on the panel “Industry Spotlight: So Many Networks, So Little Time.” Join Jay Sears to get a detailed primer on the state of the digital ad network and ad exchange landscape and learn about emerging best practices from Mr. Sears and other leading executives. Robert Coolbirth, Research Associate, Internet and Online Media, ThinkPanmure LLC, will moderate, and the other panelists will include:

Ro Choy, VP of Business Development, RockYou
Roy de Souza, CEO, ZEDO, Inc.
Bill Wise, General Manager, Marketing Technology Solutions, Yahoo!
Mike DiFranza, President and General Manager, Captivate Network.

Also on Tuesday from 3:30-4:30PM, Scot McLernon and Doug Weaver, Founder and CEO, Upstream Group, will moderate the panel “Deal Quality: Planning, Negotiating and Securing Online Ad Buys That Make Sense.” This panel is perfect for sales executives and agency and client participants who seek to gain an understanding of their media partner’s motivations.

Other panelists will include:

Paul Thenstedt, Director of Sales, Midwest, NBC Universal Digital Media
Reggie Riley, VP of Multi-Media Sales, The Wall Street Journal
Michael Kraut, VP National Sales, Cars.com.

On Wednesday from 2:15-3:15PM, Joe Kutchera will appear on the panel “Publishing in the Digital Age: How Media Companies are Extending Their Reach.” This panel will bring together executives from traditional media companies and Web publishers to discuss their content and how technology offerings are creating new value propositions in the marketplace. Brenda White, Senior VP, Publishing Activation Director, Starcom USA, will moderate the panel. Other panelists will include:

Josh Stinchcomb, Associate Publisher, Wired Digital
James Smith, Chief Revenue Officer, HuffingtonPost.com
Rob Barrett, Senior VP, GM, LATimes.com/Tribune
Jacki Kelley, Executive VP, Media Sales, Martha Stewart Living

We hope to see you at ad:tech Chicago!

Event Recap: ibreakfast’s “Media Buying 2.0″ featuring Ogilvy, Morpheus Media, EarthQuake Media and WhittmanHart

Tiffany Sumner — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 20:45:47 +0000

Just when you thought you knew everything there was to know about “Web 2.0,” on July 23rd, ibreakfast held the “Media Buying 2.0” event. With over 50 attendees, the event was held at the CresaPartners building in Midtown Manhattan. The panel focused on how emerging technologies are evolving online marketing and advertising strategies.

We’ve posted video clips from the event as well as a copy of Adam Broitman’s (Morpheus Media) and Robert Davidson’s (EarthQuake Media) presentations that focused on how media agencies are using technology to promote their client’s messaging in new and innovative ways. Check out photos of the event.

The event featured:

Adam Broitman, Director of Emerging and Creative Strategy, Morpheus Media
Rebecca Coleman, SVP Client Services, WhittmanHart
Robert Davidman , Chairman & CEO, EarthQuake Media
Ben Ezrick, Senior Strategist of Digital Innovation, Ogilvy
Jay Sears, EVP Strategic Products & Business Development, ContextWeb , Inc.

The panel discussion provided insights on how agencies can utilize new Web technologies and develop successful online marketing and advertising campaigns. Attendees were able to ask questions and network with the panelists and sponsors. Just a few of the highlights included: Adam Broitman, Morpheus Media, focused his discussion on audience engagement and the creativity required to produce effective online marketing campaigns. During his presentation, he said, “There are more tools of engagement than even before and devising ways to use thses tools effectively requires creative thinking, not just quantitative strategy.” Robert Davidson, EarthQuake Media, focused his presentation on mobile marketing and conveyed that ads on mobile devices, such as the iPhone, should be integrated into the applications hosting them. View Adam Broitman’s (Morpheus Media) and Robert Davidman’s (EarthQuake Media) presentations.

ContextWeb’s Jay Sears kicked the panel off. He discussed media fragmentation and other current industry trends. View Jay Sears’s presentation.

Watch the video footage of the event and the Q&A with the panel.

ibreakfast Media Buying 2.0 Event, Sponsored by ContextWeb, full event @ Yahoo! Video

ibreakfast Media Buying 2.0 Event, Sponsored by ContextWeb, Panel Q&A @ Yahoo! Video

ContextWeb’s July 9th Event: “The Next Big Thing” - Video and Presentations

Tiffany Sumner — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 18:05:00 +0000

Packed with over 150 attendees from some of the hottest interactive companies, ContextWeb hosted a panel discussion on “The Next Big Thing: How Publishers are Taking Back Control of Their Brands with Scalable and Profitable Online Strategies” on Wednesday July 9th at The Yale Club in Manhattan.

We have posted video and audio from the event as well as a copy of Bill Morrison’s (ThinkPanmure) presentation that kicked off the event and an offer from Bill to be added to his Internet research distribution list. View our photos from the event or just subscribe to ContextWeb’s blog.

The event featured:

Moderator:Randall Rothenberg, President, Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB)
William Morrison,Partner, Senior Internet Analyst, ThinkPanmure
Wenda Harris Millard, Co-CEO and President of Media, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia
Ari Brandt,General Manager - Digital Media, Conde Nast Business Media Group and Portfolio.com
Sean Muzzy, Senior Partner, Media Director, Neo@Ogilvy

The panel discussion provided insights on how publishers can utilize their brand equity to capitalize on the significant growth expected in display online advertising.

Topics covered included: comparison between ad networks and exchanges, the economics of launching a branded network, how to create reach for your advertisers, topics specific to ad delivery, media fragmentation and how to reach Long-Tail content, how to make sure your content is brand-safe and much more. Attendees were able to ask questions and network with the panelists and other leading media executive attendees. Listen the panel discussion, view Bill Morrison’s Introductory Presentation and view the research report Bill mentioned on ad networks and exchanges from ThinkPanmure. If you want to be added to Bill’s internet research distribution list, email your request to wmorrison (AT) thinkpanmure.com.

Here’s the first installment of AdvertisingAge’s clip of “The Next Big Thing.” The second and third installments are also now available.

Watch the entire event on video:

The Next Big Thing Event, video 1 @ Yahoo! Video

Reach Extension Event, video 2 @ Yahoo! Video

Attendees from the event included executives from A&E Television Networks, ABC Television Network, ABC.com, About.com, American Media Inc., Avenue A, Bank of America, Baron Funds, Beyond Interaction, BusinessWeek, cablevision.com, Comcast Interactive Media, Cox Newspapers Inc., Crain Communications, Fantasy Sports Ventures, HACHETTE FILIPACCHI MEDIA U.S., Hearst Digital Media, Hearst-Argyle Television Inc., Hollywood.com, Lehman, Lightspeed, LLC, Magazine Publishers of America, MediaPost, msnbc.com, MTV, NBA, NBC Universal, Neo@Ogilvy, New York Post, nytimes.com, OMD, RAPP COLLINS WORLDWIDE, SportsNet New York, Susquehanna Financial, The New York Times, theautochannel.com, Thomson Reuters, Time Inc. Interactive, Turner, tvguide.com, United Media, USATODAY.com, Weather.com, Westwood One and The Wall Street Journal.

Tags: ContextWeb, ADSDAQ, ad, exchange, ad, network, agency, advertising, internet, publisher

Wenda Harris Millard is featured on AllThingsD.com

Tiffany Sumner — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:29:10 +0000

On July 1, 2008, Kara Swisher of AllthingD.com, a site devoted to news and opinion, focusing on technology, media and the Internet, featured an interview with Wenda Harris Millard. Mrs. Millard, who sits on ContextWeb’s Board of Directors, first went to Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSLO) as President of Media and recently was promoted to Co-CEO and President of Media after former President and CEO, Susan Lyne, stepped down.

Well quoted in the press recently for her “pork bellies” comment, which expressed her concern over the commodization of online media, Mrs. Millard and Kara Swisher discuss the current state of online media and more. Listen to the interview:

MPA Ad Networks and Exchanges: Building Brands Online

Tiffany Sumner — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 21:22:44 +0000

On the morning of June 18, 2008, Magazine Publisher’s Association (MPA) hosted Ad Networks and Exchanges: Building Brands Online, a seminar addressing the danger of publishers trading their online inventory like “pork bellies.” The event included three panels of publishers and ad technology solutions providers. Each panel discussed the role of vertical networks and ad exchanges in building brands, delivering ad campaigns and offering competitive CPMs.

Speakers included:

Ken Sonenclar, Managing Director, DeSilva & Phillips, gave an overview of the ad network and exchange marketplace.

Panel One:
Shanthi Sarkar, CPO, ContextWeb, spoke about ContextWeb’s ADSDAQ Exchange, which offers publishers page-level, contextual ad targeting on Web pages. ADSDAQ also enables publishers to optimize the value of their inventory and extend their reach. ADSDAQ publishers Paul DeBraccio, CEO, Interevco-Interactive Revenue.com, and Scott Havens, Director - Business Development, Digital Media, Conde Nast Portfolio.com, gave insights on how the contextual solutions can increase a brand’s reach while retaining pricing/content control.

Panel Two:
Joelle Gropper Kaufman, VP Marketing & Media Operations, Adify, discussed how online publishers can build their own networks to aggregate high-quality, brand driven content. Adding great insights and expertise, Kevin Normandeau, VP Business Development, IDG TechNetwork and Prem Luthra, SVP Corporate Development and Strategy, Fidelity National Real Estate Solution and Cyberhomes Media Group.com, also participated in the discussion.

Panel Three:
Robert Ames, VP & General Manager, Digital Automotive Group, Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., Inc. spoke about Jumpstart Media, an automotive content and ad network Hachette acquired a year ago. David Cooperstein, CMO, Burst Media and Regina Sebring, VP Behavioral Targeting Solutions, Revenue Science and partner publishers discussed behavioral targeting, brand building, vertical networks and mobile advertising.

Agency executives also participated in the event. Among them were:

Jay Bartlett, Sr. Advertising Manager at Xerox Corporation
Jay Krihak, Sr Partner, Group Director, MEC Interaction, Mediaedge:cia
Dave Marsey, VP/Group Media Director at Digitas
Moderated by Mike Smith, General Manager, Forbes.com.

View video below:

Part One

Part Two

SF Big Panel: The Effects of Media Planning Automation

Ryan Becker — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 21:53:54 +0000

On May 29, San Francisco Bay Area Interactive Group (SF Big) hosted a breakfast panel discussing the effects of media planning automation. With over 200 attendees, the panel had a great turnout. Cory Treffiletti, President, Managing Partner, Catalyst, moderated the panel.

And panelists included:

Ryan Becker, VP Publisher Development, ContextWeb
Shane Vaughan, VP Marketing, Balihoo
Matt Boyd – SVP Sales, ValueClick
Neil Monnens; Co founder and President, Good Hands Media.

With widespread acknowledgment that the media planning process could be more efficient, the panel focused on the new technologies being built that will help automate parts of the planning process. The panel discussed the critical importance of the human element in media planning, and panelists agreed that while many of the processes behind planning can be automated, there always will be the need for human interaction and creative thought when creating a successful ad campaign.

Panelists also agreed that media planning could benefit from some automation. But planners have difficulties deciding which of the new technologies will benefit them, and they feel that more standardization should exist before many of them can be adopted. ComScore and @plan seem to be the most widely adopted, but they only track the larger sites. How, then, do planners address a world in where thousands of new sites are published daily?

On this topic, I said: “We need to start thinking of the universe in terms of pages not just sites, how do planners efficiently access the pages (not just the sites) that are right for their advertisers?” Publishers and technology vendors need to work together as partners with media planners to better service advertisers, and the ADSDAQ exchange is a great platform to do just that.

PPC Summit: ADSDAQ Exchange Presents in San Francisco

Tiffany Sumner — Wed, 28 May 2008 20:40:35 +0000

On May 19 and 20, executives from ContextWeb’s ADSDAQ Exchange attended and presented at one of the key search engine marketing conferences in the U.S., PPC Summit, in San Francisco, California.

During the first day of meetings, Jay Sears, ContextWeb’s EVP of Strategic Products and Business Development, presented a lunchtime keynote to attendees entitled, “Why Content Matters: Content vs. Search.”

“Content-based ads are a great solution for advertisers looking to scale beyond search. Since search is “supply-gated,” advertisers can buy only so many search terms before the supply runs out and “clicks” become too expensive. Jay Sears, EVP of ContextWeb’s ADSDAQ Exchange, will offer insights to determine if content-based ads are right for you, explore the benefits of content-based ads and explain how content-based ads offer advertisers a way to target ads to relevant content.”

To view Jay’s complete presentation on video, click below:

To download Jay’s presentation in PDF format, click here.

To download the MP3 audio of Jay’s presentation, click here.

Tags: adsdaq,, contextweb

Upcoming Events: ThinkTomorrow, OPA UK, iMedia Agency Summit Austin, PPC Summit San Francisco

Tiffany Sumner — Tue, 06 May 2008 13:36:44 +0000

Executives from ContextWeb’s ADSDAQ Exchange will be attending numerous, upcoming industry events both here in the U.S. and in the United Kingdom - in support of our new UK offices recently opened by ContextWeb’s UK Country Manager Ross Caveille.

May 12-14 - “ThinkTomorrow ~ Today” conference from ThinkPanmure will be held at The Ritz-Carlton in Half Moon Bay, CA. From ContextWeb, Anand Subramanian, CEO, and Jay Sears, SVP of Strategic Products and Business Development will attend. Anand presents ContextWeb at 2:15 p.m. on the 13th which is followed by his participation in a 3:15 panel entitled “David vs. GOOGliath: Next Generation Ad Platforms Speak Out,” moderated by ThinkPanmure analyst, Bill Morrison.

ThinkPanmure’s conference attendee list includes key industry figures such as:

Marc Andreessen (Co-Founder, Ning & Netscape, Founder & Chairman, Opsware)
Bill Campbell (Chairman, Intuit)
Steve Chen (Co-Founder & Chief Technology Officer, YouTube)
Bob Compton (Executive Producer, 2 Million Minutes)
Ron Conway (Founder & Managing Partner, Angel Investors)
John Doerr (Partner, Kleiner Perkins)
Mike McCue (Founder, Tellme Networks)
Jonathan Rosenberg (Senior Vice President, Product Marketing, Google)

May 14-16 - OPA ‘08 London: Forum for the Future brings together many of the world’s top web publishers to discuss the latest developments in the world of online media. Shanthi Sarkar, SVP, Operations and Product Management, ContextWeb, will travel to London for the conference to learn from web publishers and discuss the recently-announced Reach Extension Program available through the ADSDAQ Exchange. Attendees include:

Chris Ahearn - President, Reuters Media
Rafat Ali - Editor and Publisher, paidContent.org
Wolfgang Büchner - Executive Editor, Spiegel Online
Emily Bell - Director of Digital Content, Guardian News & Media Limited
Saul J. Berman - Global Strategy & Change Services Leader, IBM Global Business Services
Tom Chavez - Founder and CEO, Rapt
Ien Cheng - Publisher and Managing Editor, FT.com
Pete Clifton - Head of Editorial Development, Multi-Media Journalism, BBC
Henrique de Castro - Head of European Sales & Media Solutions, Google EMEA
Dr. Scott Gallacher - Director of Online & Partner Marketing, BSkyB
Curt Hecht - EVP/Chief Digital Officer, Starcom MediaVest Group
Pam Horan - President, Online Publishers Association
Spencer Hyman - COO, Last.fm
Jeff Jarvis - President, Buzzmachine.com
Steve Kaufer - CEO and Founder, TripAdvisor
Doug Knopper - Co-Founder/co-CEO, FreeWheel
Larry Kramer - Senior Advisor, Polaris Venture Partners
Andy Lark - Vice President Global Communications & Marketing, Dell Inc.
Alison Leonard - Head of Digital Solutions, HSBC including First Direct
Caroline Little - CEO and Publisher, Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive
Nils Müller - CEO, TrendONE
David McMurtrie - Optimization Sales Director, International
Tero Ojanperä - Executive Vice President, Entertainment and Communities, Nokia
Simon Pestridge - Marketing Director for Nike UK & Ireland, Nike
Geoff Ramsey - CEO and co-Founder, eMarketer
Mark Read - Director of Strategy, WPP
Dr. Stephan Roppel - CEO, Holtzbrinck eLAB
Douglas Scott - Director of Branded Content and Entertainment, Ogilvy Entertainment
John Squires - Executive Vice President, Time Inc.
Nada Stirratt - Executive VP, Digital Advertising, MTV Networks Digital
Rishad Tobaccowala - CEO, Denuo and Chief Innovation Officer, Publicis Groupe Media
Craig Walmsley - Director of Strategy, AKQA
Larry Weber - Chairman, W2 Group, Inc.

May 18-21 - iMedia Agency Summit Austin - John Ruvolo and Megan Sandahl from ContextWeb’s Sales team will join more than 140 interactive agency leaders at the 4-day summit in Texas. Conference participants include top agency managers such as:

Christian Arens, VP, Director of Digital Strategy, DraftFCB
Rhonda Fortner, Media Director, Saatchi & Saatchi LA
Adam Gordon, Chief Revenue Officer, World Now
Helen Har, VP, Advertising Sales, West, imeem
Carrie Lane, SVP, Online Media Director, U.S. International Media
Hugh McGoran, VP, Eastern Advertising Sales, TACODA, Inc.
John A. Messina, Director of Emerging Advertising Sales, AWS Conergence Technologies
Scott Witt, VP, Creative Director of Media, Denuo + Droga5
John Durham, CEO/Managing Partner

May 19-20 - Pay Per Click Summit will be held at Marriott San Francisco Airport in Burlingame, CA. Jay Sears, SVP Strategic Products & Business Development, and Karen Trendell, Director Customer Service & Sales, will attend. Mr. Sears presents “Why Content Matters: Content VS Search” on May 19th at the Keynote Lunch starting at 11:45AM. Mrs. Trendell will be present at the exhibit table for both days of the summit.

Register today! ContextWeb and PPC Summit are offering 10% discount code: CONTEXT10. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn about PPC from the experts.

For the latest updates on ContextWeb speaking engagements and attendance at conferences and trade shows, visit the ContextWeb Internet Advertising Blog or the ContextWeb events schedule on the corporate website.

Tags: adsdaq, contextweb